Grace was peering thoughtfully at the picture on Ben’s phone. ‘There are old stories about hidden treasure in these parts. I never thought there was any truth in it. Where did Ross find them? How many did he have?’

Ben replied, ‘Where he found them was his little secret. As to how many, it must have been a few, or else he wouldn’t have been going around the village bragging that he was rich enough to leave Kinlochardaich and set himself up on a tropical beach for the rest of his life.’

‘You only just got here. How do you know all this?’

Ben didn’t want to get Holly mixed up in police business. ‘That’s classified, officer. I prefer not to reveal my source.’

‘Withholding information from the police is an offence.’

‘So arrest me.’

She stared at him for a moment, then sighed. ‘All right. What else do you know?’

‘That Ewan found at least one of the coins that Ross had. It probably happened by chance, because I don’t think that Ross intended to let his partner in on the secret, or that he was planning on leaving. But maybe whoever attacked Ewan didn’t know that. Maybe they assumed that he was equally involved. Maybe they beat him up to make him reveal where the rest of the gold was. Or maybe it was to force him to cough up the identity of the anonymous witness, this poacher, who claimed to have seen Ross being murdered. Except Ewan had no idea who the poacher was. He needed his uncle’s help to find out. That’s the reason Boonzie came to Scotland.’

Grace said nothing. Ben could see wheels turning inside her head, but whatever she was thinking she kept to herself.

Ben said, ‘The witness is the key that will unlock this thing. If he was telling the truth, then whoever murdered Ross Campbell was after what he’d found, and faked an accidental drowning or possible suicide to cover their tracks.’

Grace remained silent. Still thinking hard.

Ben went on, ‘You can be sure that when Boonzie went off in Ewan’s camper van, it was to track down the poacher and find out what he knew. That’s what I’d do, in his position. It’s what the police should be doing, too. Are they?’

Grace shook her head. ‘I told you, I can’t discuss confidential matters pertaining to an ongoing police investigation.’

‘Even if you knew the details, and weren’t being left out of the loop by DI Macleod and DS Coull?’

‘Correct.’

‘Fair enough. Rules are rules. I get that. Did you have any other questions for me?’

‘I was curious about what’s next for you. Where you plan on going from here.’

‘Nowhere. Not until I find Boonzie. Wherever this leads, I’m not ready to leave Kinlochardaich just yet.’

‘Do you have a place to stay?’